Introducing David Sumanti (aka GiaKenza)

Name: David MVC Sumanti

When I was a child, I was always intrigued with printed materials, like boxes of cigarettes and bottle caps. All cigarette boxes are same in shape but their branding makes them different.

I started painting cigarette boxes and bottle caps white and drawing new images on them — that is the first time I branded a product. I realized that I might be a naturally-born designer. 🙂

I ended up going to a graphic design academy after I graduated high school and studied print design as my major.

How do you get your design inspiration?

I love looking at beautiful things and thinking about how they were created. Traditional and ethnic patterns inspire a lot of my work — from Japanese traditional motifs to Indian and Tibetan jewelry shapes to Minahasan stone carving patterns. I like to elaborate on those patterns, finding the basic shapes and inventing my own pattern from it.

As a logo designer, I found that a simple shape can be modified into hundreds of new shapes. I always start my design process with a list of keywords and begin sketching based off those words.

My friend introduced me to 99designs and suggested that I try it to gain some experience. I was intrigued that I would be going up against other designers in these contests — it was like a game.

I won my first contest in the 30th contest I entered. Some designers win after their 2nd or 5th contest entered but I wasn’t discouraged, I was just happy I finally won.

As a logo designer I know that I will not win every contest I enter; but every contest is another opportunity to build a relationship with the Contest Holder and expand your network. I’ve been lucky enough to have created such strong relationships with CH’s and they have asked to work with me outside of 99designs. This site has been a great bridge for me as a freelance designer with international clients.

Thanks GiaKenza, for sharing your tips! There is no doubt that your future holds many more contest wins.

The author

Based in San Francisco, Allison (Alli) Stuart works as Head of Community Marketing at 99designs. When she's not writing articles and communicating with designers, she is working on her Children's Book. She also enjoys extreme sports, like sky diving and traveling to new places. Alli has a Fine Arts Degree with a concentration in Graphic Design from Louisiana State University, her home. Geaux Tigers!

Tags

Related articles

Andrzej Kuziola is a full-time, self-taught artist who joined 99designs to explore new creative challenges and experiences. We first discovered him when he was nominated—and then won—our first 99awards competition this year with his stunning illustration for a fantasy novel. Born in Poland and now residing in the United Kingdom, Kuziola began his career as a dentist…

Originally Mila Milic (aka Meella) wanted to become a psychologist before switching to economics. But somewhere in between, by pure accident, she wound up a successful book cover designer. It began simply enough… While searching through freelance websites for economist gigs, she quickly discovered a need for photo retouching—a skill she had, thanks to her Photoshop knowledge. Realizing design work like this was lucrative,…

Ardie Aquino illustrates with attitude. Drawing inspiration from the great graphic novelists and cartoonists of the last few decades, his designs are laced with a bit of punk and grotesquerie and full of humor. At the end of the day, though, his style is all his own—and clients love it. We chatted with Ardie Aquino…